- The Senate financial organization ordered the FBR to stop purchases last week.
- New vehicles necessary for operational purposes: FBR.
- Senators claim to have received deadly threats for having increased objections.
After the senatorial finance committee and revenues increased objections to the purchase of 1,010 new vehicles, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) temporarily stopped the supply process to analyze the proposal via a government authority.
In a statement Thursday, the president of the FBR, Rashid Langrial, announced that the proposal would be presented to the public provides Regulatory Authority (PPRA) for analysis before buying vehicles in order to win the confidence of the organization Senate.
Last week, the Senatorial Finance Committee ordered the FBR to stop its purchase plan for new vehicles for operational purposes at an estimated cost of 6 billion rupees, invoking concerns about transparency in the supply process .
Having reached a consensus during the January 23 meeting, the permanent committee decided that it would write to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Minister of Finance Mohammad Aurangzeb to stop the purchase.
No senior FBR officials, including the president and members of the board of directors, attended last week’s meeting, leaving only the chief administrator to defend the decision.
During this meeting, an FBR official said that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved public procurement months ago and that the process followed standard procedures, including market surveys and Committee approvals.
During the meeting, Mandviwalla was hard on the justification of the FBR for purchases, doubting its internal evaluation mechanisms and its reward systems, while calling for more transparency in the process.
The head of the FBR Langrial, in a separate declaration a few days ago, said that the purchase of vehicles for young officers was necessary for the operations of the ministry.
Earlier in the day, Senator Faisal Vawda, a member of the Senate body, said three FBR officers had threatened his life on the objections to a “non -transparent” proposal for a massive acquisition of vehicles by the tax authority of the country.
Echoing the apprehensions of Vawda, the chairman of the committee, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, also said that he had received similar threatening messages.
The controversy surrounding the purchase of vehicles and alleged threats have now turned into a broader question, legislators calling for responsibility and transparency in FBR operations, which has trouble achieving the income recovery objectives for exercise 2025.